The bill -- imprinted with Harry Truman's photo -- was intended to help rebuild Europe but went missing after industrialist Montgomery Burns was trusted to take it to the continent. The caper ultimately ends with Fidel Castro five-fingering the precious paper.

The show wasn't about the debt ceiling, but it does make light of the audacity of a country with such economic power.

There's a legal loophole allowing the Treasury to mint platinum coins in any denomination the secretary chooses. Yes, it was intended to allow commemorative collector's items -- but that's not what the letter of the law says. And by minting a $1 trillion coin, then depositing it at the Fed, the Treasury could acquire enough cash to sidestep the debt ceiling -- while doing no economic harm at all.

Mr. Burns, clearly a Republican, wouldn't be happy (unless, of course, the bill ended up in his pocket).